It's Gotta Be Worth Something

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks challenged by the idea of convenient worship. Pastor Aaron brought it up in a message not too long ago, and I have been completely floored. In Romans 12:1, Paul asks us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, which is holy and pleasing to God. Also, in Luke 14:27, Jesus says, “Whoever does not pick up their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” These are two verses that I’ve read probably a thousand times in my life, but it’s never really occurred to me how much they correlate.

As I’ve been processing this thought, I’ve started to notice how much I love to worship God when it’s convenient. Whether I’m in a worship service singing songs or I’m in my daily life, it’s easy to worship God through action and deed when it’s convenient. But what about the other 70% of the time when it’s not?

In 2 Samuel 24, David had sinned against God and David wants to restore his relationship with God. So God tells David to go and buy a threshing floor, a place to separate the wheat from the chaff so that David can turn it into an altar to bring sacrifices to God. David goes to the owner of that property and tells him that he’d like to buy it. When the owner tries to gift it to David along with some oxen and some other things just to sweeten the deal out of honor to the King, David says, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” How many times have I sacrificed what was easy just to say that I did it? Was it even a sacrifice at all? I was very convicted that maybe I haven’t “picked up my cross” to follow Jesus. If I have, where did I lay it down and how do I pick it back up? How can I better “present myself as a living sacrifice to God?”

Worship is defined by the simple idea of assigning worth to something through our actions. It’s an expression of our heart and our commitment to God. I found that some of my worship has been cheap. Our God is not a cheap God. He proved that through offering Himself on the cross in our place. He took our place, ya’ll. It was supposed to be us on the cross, but He paid the ultimate price so that we can have a relationship with Him. What a sobering thought.

My challenge for all of us is to reassess how much we value God. Not just in our minds but in our hearts and our commitment to life in God through Jesus. Let’s worship God in a way that costs us something. It is through that investment that we get to truly have a relationship with Him. It's through that investment that we become a people that are on fire for God.

Here are some questions to consider:

JOURNAL: Where have I taken shortcuts or treated worship as a checklist instead of an investment? How can I better “present myself as a living sacrifice to God?”

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, search me and know me. Reveal any part of me that I haven’t laid at Your feet. Light up the dim corners that haven’t felt Your presence in a while. Reignite a flame in me to burn bright for You.

ACTIVATION: Take a moment and listen. Write down what you feel the Lord saying.

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